Category: Department of Agriculture
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Food & Water Watch Challenge to New Poultry Inspection System Dismissed
Finding a lack of standing, a D.C. federal court has dismissed Food & Water Watch’s lawsuit alleging that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS) is inconsistent with the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA), which requires USDA to ensure that poultry products are wholesome, unadulterated and properly marked, labeled and packaged.…
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Meat Industry’s COOL Challenge Dropped
Challengers to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s country-of-origin labeling (COOL) rules requiring meat products to indicate where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered reportedly will not continue to pursue their claims, according to a stipulation of dismissal. Am. Meat Inst. v. USDA, No. 13-1033 (D.C., stipulation filed February 9, 2015). The meat and poultry…
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USDA Proposes New Pathogen-Reduction Methods for Poultry Products
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed new standards that aim to reduce Salmonella and Campylobacter in “the poultry items that Americans most often purchase,” including ground chicken and turkey products as well as raw chicken breasts, legs and wings, according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The proposed standards would require routine sampling throughout…
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USDA Extends Comment Period for Organic Product Exemption Under Commodity Promotion Law
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Marketing Service has extended until February 17, 2015, the comment period for a proposed rule that would expand assessment exemptions for commodity promotion activities “to cover all ‘organic’ and ‘100 percent organic’ products certified under the National Organic Program regardless of whether the person requesting the exemption also produces,…
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New York Times Claims New GE Techniques Allow Companies to Skirt Regulation
According to a January 1, 2015, New York Times article by Andrew Pollack, the advent of new technologies has created a loophole in federal regulations for companies looking to market genetically-engineered (GE) crops. Noting that new techniques do not involve the transfer of genetic material from other species, use bacterium to insert foreign materials or…
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NOP Clarifies Conservation Requirements for Organic Producers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) has published draft guidance clarifying the agency’s interpretation of regulations that require organic operations to “maintain or improve the natural resources of the operation, including soil and water quality.” Intended for accredited certifying agents and certified operations, the guidance provides examples of production practices that support the…
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Chemical Hazards, Foodborne Illness Cost Estimates Chief Topics of Upcoming NACMPI Meeting
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will host a January 13-14, 2015, public meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI) at the Patriot Plaza III building in Washington, D.C. Topics of discussion at the meeting will include (i) FSIS’s identification and management of chemical hazards…
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USDA Proposes Expansion of Organic Products Assessment Exemption
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed a rule that would allow anyone producing, handling, marketing, or importing certified organic products to be exempt from paying the assessments associated with commodity promotion activities like advertising. The exemption would cover all “organic” and “100 percent organic” products certified under the National Organic Program. The current rule…